Businesses spend billions of dollars on year on software and hardware-based technology systems. Technology systems range from simple software packages such as Microsoft Word to sophisticated hardware and software systems that automate strategic business and manufacturing processes. Whether the technology system is purchased from one or more outside vendors or is developed xe2x80x9cin-housexe2x80x9d the challenge that businesses face is getting the technology system implemented and deployed (within a reasonable timeframe and budget) such that the system is being utilized within the business and a return on investment is being recognized.
Unfortunately this challenge is not easily overcome by many businesses. As a result many technology systems that are purchased or developed are never implemented or are only partially implemented. Worse yet, most businesses grossly underestimate the implementation process which result in large schedule and budget overruns.
Traditionally businesses have looked to external consulting and professional service organizations to assist with and support the implementation of technology systems. However, in many cases the implementation services provided by external consultants and service organizations has proven to be very expensive and inconsistent in quality. This has caused many businesses to attempt the implementation of technology systems using xe2x80x9cin-housexe2x80x9d resources. Unfortunately this approach has also proven to be ineffective as internal resources generally do not have the experience or expertise to manage the implementation of technology systems. As a result, traditional implementation approaches are generally ineffective, costly and do not yield successful results.
Vendors of technology systems are also impacted by this problem as the long-term viability of a technology system vendor depends on the success of their customers and their ability to ensure that their technology systems are quickly and effectively implemented. The long-term viability of consulting and professional organizations also relies on the quality of the implementation services provided to their clients. Due to the shortage of qualified technical resources many consulting and professional services companies are having difficulty recruiting and retaining first class resources. This situation is forcing consulting and professional service organizations to hire less qualified and skilled resources while charging higher rates to their clients.
In order to alleviate these problems vendors and implementation service providers have developed xe2x80x9cimplementation methodologies and processesxe2x80x9d for implementing various technology systems. The purpose of these methodologies and processes is to attempt to ensure that the implementation process for a particular technology system or class of systems is repeatable from business to business and consultant to consultant. Many vendors and implementation service providers have made these methodologies and processes available to their customers and clients for their own internal use. Several vendors such as Computer Associates with their Process Continuum product have developed software to augment and support the use of these methodologies. Libraries of xe2x80x9conline methodologiesxe2x80x9d have been developed and are being sold by third party companies such as James Martin that work as an input to the Process Continuum software. The Process Continuum software and related libraries are marketed directly to businesses with the goal of enabling businesses to take advantage of proven methodologies and best practices.
Unfortunately, despite the number of methodologies and related products that are available on the market today, the technology system implementation and integration issues introduced previously are not being successfully addressed. This is because the methodologies that are available are developed to be xe2x80x9cone size fits allxe2x80x9d and, as a result, do not create an implementation plan and strategy which takes into consideration the specific technology system that is being implemented, the specific functionality of the system that will be implemented or the end user environment where the system will be implemented. They do not examine and take into consideration the specific cultural and xe2x80x9cpeoplexe2x80x9d issues that impact technology system implementations. They do not enable users to draw upon encapsulations of implementation tools and historical xe2x80x9clike kindxe2x80x9d implementation data nor do they allow a user to encapsulate and share their own implementation data, tools and strategies with others. In today""s business environment each technology system implementation is unique. As a result implementation plans, strategies and approaches must take into consideration the uniqueness of each individual implementation. The xe2x80x9cone size fits allxe2x80x9d methodology is limited in its usefulness in today""s business environment.
The bottom line is that neither the use of consultants nor the use of existing packaged libraries of implementation methodologies is a sufficient solution to the challenges associated with implementing and integrating varied technology systems. What is needed is a universally accessible system which is designed to facilitate and manage the implementation and integration of technology systems as opposed to simply providing a methodology. This system should be able to support an unlimited number of technology system implementations over time and be able to address and handle each implementation as a unique entity. It should allow businesses that are implementing technology systems to encapsulate the knowledge and techniques garnered in a technology system implementation and then draw on those encapsulations for formulating implementation strategies for similar implementations. It should allow businesses to build an xe2x80x9cimplementation templatexe2x80x9d and strategy based upon their unique implementation and integration requirements. The system should facilitate access by and communication with outside consultants, technology vendors and other implementation experts in an efficient and cost-effective manner. This new system should take full advantage of computers, databases, and the Internet and related on-line networks to allow For entirely new features and quality of service that were previously unavailable.
To address the foregoing problems which exist in the prior art, the present invention provides a system in which the implementation and integration of technology systems is facilitated, managed and supported regardless of the type of technology system being implemented. An implementation plan and strategy is developed that will ensure the highest probability of success and will be time and cost effective. The creation of implementation deliverables such as project schedules and plans is streamlined. The invention allows users to access, communicate with and share implementation and integration strategies with each other. An implementation templates is created based upon specific implementation requirements. A common framework, marketplace and community is provided where businesses, vendors, consultants and other experts can communicate and share implementation information data in a useful and workable manner. A mechanism is provided for pricing and billing of implementation templates and tools. The invention also provides expert analysis surrounding a specific technology system implementation using historical xe2x80x9clike kindxe2x80x9d implementation data and knowledge bases.